Collected Pieces
by Der schwarze Prinz
Summary: A collection of One-Chapter-Stories focusing on the Gallagher sibling dynamics. Chapter #3 "Collect": "If there's one thing Gallaghers don't do, it's begging." (Debbie & Carl)
1. Home (Ian & Liam)

**Disclaimer: I don't own Shameless. **

****This is my second collection of One-Chapter-Stories for Shameless. Each Chapter will focus on a different pair of Gallagher-Siblings-Dynamics. They do not connect in anyway and can all be read separately.****

******I haven't seen any of Season 10 so far, so this particular story takes place after Season 9, but does not include anything from Season 10, even if it might focus on events that the show might have covered already or will cover in the future. ******

******_Special Thanks go out to my beta_****** lemondrizzlecake.

* * *

**Home**

_Ian & Liam_

Overcrowding.

The word still rings in Ian's head as he walks down the familiar streets of Chicago, all his belongings under one arm. Overcrowding. That's why he got released from prison four months early.

He can still smell the stench of urine in the showers, still feel the hardwood under the thin mattress, still taste freaking Mickey Milkovich's lips on his own.

Overcrowding, he thinks as he walks down the street, trying not to suffocate due to the amount of fresh air reaching his lungs as he makes his way home. _Home. _The word doesn't ring familiar within his head. So when he stops in front of the blue house on Wallace Street at three p.m on a regular Tuesday afternoon, he takes a moment to let it sink in. He eyes the house carefully, as if he thought it might eat him alive once he enters.

He hasn't told any of his siblings that he's been released early.

There wasn't really any time, because they literally just told him yesterday morning, but Ian also didn't want to. For sure, he could have called Lip, and he knows his big brother would have immediately dropped everything he was doing, probably gotten Kevin's truck and driven him home.

They would have stopped for lunch at a shitty diner and clinked with plastic cups filled with soda and there would have been a long talk with tons of prison jokes — which Ian wouldn't have found funny at all, but they would melted his heart anyway because it would have been _Lip._

He could have called Debbie and she would have gone to the store, bought tons of food and prepared a fancy dinner, and talked and talked and talked while Ian would have sat in silence, his head spinning, Franny on his lap – oh gosh she must have grown so big since he got sentenced. He _would _have told Carl, because he, for sure, wouldn't make a big deal out of it, but Carl's at military school, close to graduating, and Ian doesn't want to disturb him. Nor does he have his number, and the school is a few hours away. There is no use to do so.

He might have called Kev, if Kev could keep quiet, so he could get a ride home in a comfortable truck. But Kev can't keep quiet, so he would have told Vee, and probably Lip, and -

Long story short, Ian decided he didn't need to tell anyone, that it would be a better surprise if he just sat on the couch when they came home.

_Home._

It takes a while for Ian to find the courage to open the door. It's not locked – which means Frank must be on good behavior, lately. The thought makes him smile, because these tiny little things, the Gallagher mess, are what he missed the most when he was gone. He enters quietly, wondering if anybody might be home, staring at him wide-eyed, or if they're all gone and he might have the house for himself for a moment before the usual chaos breaks out.

Everything looks the same.

Ian doesn't know what he expected, but somehow it's strange that nothing inside seems to have changed at all. It should make him feel homey, should give him that warm comfortable feeling in his tummy, but it doesn't. It's like he's an intruder, a thief that's only there to rob the house of all its peace.

He has no luggage with him, nor a lot of belongings; he's not even wearing a god damn jacket, so all he does is wander around in confusion.

It's too quiet.

That's what bothers him most.

Three p.m on a Tuesday afternoon, so no one's home yet and it should explain this uncomfortable feeling inside of him, but it just makes it worse.

Breathing in, he prepares himself to yell, to make the house wake up and notice him, but the word gets stuck in his throat. So instead, Ian just stumbles into the kitchen, then upstairs. He enters Debbie's room first but finds it empty. He checks every other room, too, and by the time he's back downstairs, he's running and sweating and breathing heavily.

Exhausted, Ian lets himself fall down on the couch and curses himself.

He _should _have called someone.

He's not used to being alone. In prison you're never alone, not even while taking a shit; there's always someone, and luckily for him, most of the time it had been Mickey.

But Mickey's still got another year, so he's not here and Ian's alone. It's suffocating.

The quiet is excruciating, his legs are already shaking from the tension building up inside him, and it takes a minute to think straight.

He turns on the TV then, bumping up the volume until it hurts his ears and he finally calms down.

"I'm home" he tells the house, even though it doesn't listen.

_~break~_

He must have fallen asleep with the TV still on, because suddenly, he jerks awake and it takes a while to register where he is.

The TV is still on, but it's on mute. There are noises in the kitchen, plates and glasses and someone walking around with creaking sneakers.

He takes a deep breath and gets up to evaluate the situation. He grabs his chest in the process, to check his heart rate is back to normal.

The sounds in the kitchen continue and Ian smiles, breathes in the atmosphere, and tries not to cry from relief, when he finally makes his way in.

When he reaches the entrance, he stops and just watches.

It's Liam, and he's grown so freaking much in the past eighteen months that Ian feels like he just got off a time machine. It's not like Ian hasn't seen him during his stay in prison, Liam had come to visit a few times, but the atmosphere back there made him look so much smaller. Here he is, a pre-teen, making a sandwich and not looking up, until Ian speaks.

"Hey."

His brother turns around to face him, his dark eyes piercing, evaluating.

It occurs to Ian that the two of them have never been really close, him being gone a lot during Liam's upbringing, Fiona being the one taking care of him with Lip stepping in at times.

There's that feeling again, the uneasiness in his stomach, that makes him unable to move, and Ian thinks that it might be because he's afraid to be judged.

"You didn't break out, did you?"

His brother's voice isn't demanding, judging or afraid. It sounds as if Ian had just been to the grocery store and now Liam wonders if Ian remembered to get milk.

"No, got out early. Good behavior, overcrowding, the usual stuff."

"Good."

There's an awkward moment of silence and Ian tries to think of something to say to cross the invisible border that seems to be drawn across the kitchen floor, but it's Liam who takes the first step.

"You hungry? We could share my sandwich."

It's then that Ian's chest almost bursts.

In an instant he crosses the few feet between them and embraces his little brother in a crushing hug. The plate with the sandwich shatters on the ground when Liam hugs him back, kind enough not to comment on the tears running down Ian's face.

Five minutes later, they're both sitting on the couch, watching the history channel and sharing a sandwich, the awkward feeling in Ian's chest gone.

"It's good to be home," he says.

* * *

_**Next up  
**_"Protector" with Fiona and Lip.


	2. Protector (Fiona & Lip)

**A/N:  
Many Thanks to everyone who added this collection of Oneshots to their follows/favorites.**

**Special thanks to **_lemondrizzlecake_ **for beta reading.  
**

**Warnings: Mild Child Abuse. Nothing too graphic, but I understand if you don't wanna read.  
**

**Disclaimer:**** I don't own Shameless.  
**

* * *

**Protector**

_Fiona & Lip_

When she's about thirteen, Frank disappears for a while.

It's not the first time it happens and it won't be the last, but this one will be burned into her memory as the time that scared her the most.

Thirteen should be too old to be scared. She knows that and, at first, she's not scared at all.

It's not Frank's absence that scares her. It happened before and, even though she sometimes lays in bed at night and wonders if this time it might be _it_, in the depth of her heart Fiona knows that Frank will return, that he's fine. Because he always is.

It's not Frank that scares her. It's Vern.  
Fiona is pretty sure Vern's full name is Vernon. He's tall and has tattoos and smells like something stronger than booze and most importantly, Vern is Monica's new guy. He's not her mother's first replacement for Frank, but he's the one that will forever remain in Fiona's mind as the one she failed to protect her family from.

When she'd return form school, Vern would already be sitting on the couch in his underwear, smoking and drinking. And when they're seated at the kitchen table, eating dinner, he'd be sitting at Frank's spot like he owns the place. He's loud and rude, nothing she's not used to, but in contrast to Frank, Vern's biggest concern isn't the next big scheme to get some money, but rather to just live his life in peace. And five children within the age of thirteen and two are not exactly quiet and peaceful.

Vern has no sense of decency. He walks around the house without putting his trousers on, uses Debbie's favorite doll to plug the hole in the bathroom wall where water is leaking and demands that Ian rolls his joints.

Fiona is concerned, really, but the thing about Vern is, he actually _has_ money and he pays for half their bills and since he's been living with them the fridge hasn't been empty.

So Fiona decides to ignore the stuff that's not so great. She learns how to look away, because filled tiny tummys – even with a smoking, drinking garbage can in reach – are better than empty ones.

Also, it's her second year on the running team and her coach has told her that she might be able to make it into the first team as soon as she enters High School if she only keeps up practicing, and it feels good to hear that. Running is solely hers, she doesn't have to share it with her siblings, doesn't have anyone in her family that makes fun of it either and Fiona likes it. It also allows her to return late from school for three days a week and that helps a lot.

_~break~_

It's a regular Thursday when Fiona comes home to an unusually quiet house. That's the first thing that concerns her, because quiet in the Gallagher house never means anything good.

When she enters the kitchen Monica is hovering over Lip, and Ian is holding Debbie and Carl in his arms.

It takes a while for the picture to sink in, but then Fiona realizes that Monica is holding a bag of frozen peas to Lip's bruised face.

"What happened?"

Monica is shaking too much to answer, so Ian opens his mouth first, but he's cut off by Lip.

"Had a run in with some guys after school. They were pissed I didn't let them copy my homework."

Fiona rolls her eyes and takes a drink out of the fridge.

"Will there be any letter I need to be concerned about?"

"I am handling it-" Monica starts, but Lip cuts her off, too.

"No teacher saw. No need to be worried. Promise."

He's looking her directly in the eyes and Fiona resigns. "Fine."

She goes to take a shower, then, and doesn't think about it anymore.

That night they learn that Vern is out on probation, when Monica and him are fighting and yelling and throwing things around in the kitchen. Fiona lies in bed, Ian, Debbie and Carl cuddled close to her, Lip seated right behind the closed door of her room.

"You can join us in bed too," she tells him. "There's enough space."

He simply shakes his head and soon after Fiona falls asleep. When she wakes up in the morning and has to pee, she falls over his sleeping form, still blocking the door like a guard dog.

Fiona doesn't return to her room after that, but stumbles into the living room, where Monica is sitting on the couch, crying.

She sits down next to her and is close to giving her mother a hug, but she decides against it.

"What is he on probation for?" she asks instead.

"Drug possession, vandalism, some more stuff I forgot," Monica slurs.

"Why is he here?" Fiona then wonders aloud, but all she gets as a response is a shrug.

Fiona decides to leave it there and goes on a morning run. It feels good to have the cool April's air blowing through her hair, blowing away her sorrows.

_~break~_

On Monday, Fiona comes home late and finds Ian hugging a crying Monica.

She almost shakes her brother, wants him to tell her what happened, but Ian just shakes his head.

"I promised not to tell you, Scout's honour."

"Fuck Scout's honour," she says, but Ian stays quiet.

_~break~_

It's Wednesday when Fiona finally learns the truth, even though deep down she already knew. That day, she returns from her after school program early and, when she enters the living room, she stops in her tracks. The entire picture that presents to her is messy and scary.

The glass table is broken and Monica is lying on it. Ian is squeezed into a corner, holding Debbie and Carl close, while Vern is hovering over their mother, panting like a bull, his left hand bruised and bloodied around the knuckles. And in between them, Lip's taking his stand, fists clenched, lip cracked open, a new bruise forming on his chin.

It feels like someone pulled the rug out under her feet and knocked all the air out of her lungs.

For a moment, Fiona just stands there, until the rage slowly bristles everywhere inside her.

Within seconds she's there, between Vern and Lip, shoving the much taller man backwards.

"Don't you dare touching them!" she screams, but he's already upon her. The hand that connects with her cheek sends her tumbling down to the floor, and she hits her head on the fireplace. It takes a moment until she sees clearly again, and that short time is enough for Lip to pin Vern to the floor.

To this day, Fiona can't understand how he did it, a small nine-year-old against a big, grown up man, but Lip's on him, beating the shit out of Vern.

"That's my sister, you sucker!" he screams and repeats it with every punch of his tiny fists. _My sister, my sister, my sister. _It sends chills down her spine and it takes an eternity for her to move, but finally she grabs Lip, lifts him up with such ease that she wonders again how the hell he managed to up Vern, and she clutches him to her chest. He's breathing heavily and for a moment, it's the only sound in the room Then Vern gets up, spits out some blood on the floor and looks at them outraged.

He doesn't say a word. He just turns around and gets out of the door.

"Wait, honey!"

Monica is already up, following him, and Fiona is ready to puke, but she doesn't.

Instead, she leads her brother into the kitchen, gets the peas out of the freezer and takes a look at his face, Ian and the little ones following close behind.

"Fucking Scout's honor," Fiona curses.

_~break~_

Vern is back a day later, sitting on the couch in his underwear, drinking beer like nothing happened.

Fiona made Monica call their schools, made her tell the secretary that she and Lip were both sick, because she's too concerned to leave Carl and Debbie alone with that man for a moment and the bruise on Lip's chin is looking awful and the last thing she needs right now is a concerned teacher calling CPS on them.

They're sitting in the backyard, watching Debbie and Carl run around barefoot, when Lip finally says something. He hasn't spoken a word since it all happened and hearing his voice calms Fiona down.

"He's on probation," is all he says.

"What do you mean?"

"What is he on probation for?"

"Monica said something about drug possession and violence, so-"

"So if someone found weed on him, that would be a parole violation?"

Fiona looks at him and wonders how a nine-year-old can know such a thing.

"I guess."

_~break~_

It's easier than she thought for a thirteen-year-old to buy some weed at a corner, while her freaking nine-year-old brother watches her from twelve meters afar, a two-year-old on the hip.

It should be concerning, but it's the southside and what's more pressing to Fiona is that they have to spend grocery money on it, and will probably have to eat canned tomato soup for two weeks.

They come home, cut open Vern's jacket, plant the weed in there and wait. They get Ian into their scheme, without really telling him what it's about, just so he makes Monica take them to the train station. Half an hour later, Vern has been handcuffed, Monica is sobbing and Fiona finally breathes calmly again.

Later that day, she sits with Lip on the front porch. His bruises are looking a bit better, and he's actually smiling while eating some ice cream and watching the little ones playing in the garden.

It's then that Fiona decides to get it out.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

She watches him carefully, soaks in every wrinkle on his forehead as he frowns, and waits patiently until he finally speaks.

"You were so happy."

It's her turn to frown now. "What do you mean?"

"You were happy and I didn't want to ruin that. I can protect this family too, you know. You can step back sometime."

"You're only nine."

He looks at her then, shrugging.

She grabs his hand, squeezes it and is about to say something else, when suddenly Frank comes around the corner, duffle bag on his shoulders.

Fiona watches him, as he plants a kiss on Debbies forehead, ruffles Carl's hair and then walks straight towards her.

"How have you been, beautiful daughter of mine?"

She's about to say something, tell him off, because if he'd never left, Vern, maybe wouldn't have happened in the first place. But then she doesn't. Now that he's back, Fiona knows, no matter how bad Frank is... she doesn't have to be concerned about something like Vern happening again. At least not for a while.

"You shouldn't have left," is all she says.

He doesn't answer, instead climbs the stairs and opens the door. Before he enters, he turns around once more, facing them.

"You look like a fighter, my boy", he says to Lip, pointing at his bruised face. "I like that. Gallagher's are strong."

* * *

**This entire story is loosly based on a scene in Season 6, where Fiona tells Will (Sean's son) about Monica and Frank always bringing home "new moms and dads" and that one of them was so bad, that Lip and her planted weed on him and called the cops. **

**I hope that I found the right way to talk about such a sentitive subject as child abuse, without trivialising it or make it look glorious, but neither turn it too dark. **

**Next Chapter:  
"Collect" with Debbie and Carl**


	3. Collect (Debbie & Carl)

**Disclaimer: I don't own Shameless. This is just for fun. **

**A.N: I feel like I have to say that this one takes place a months or two before the first season.**

**I haven't seen Season 10 yet, so if anything in here feels disconnected to anything that was revealed on the show, I am sorry.  
**

**I'm also sorry for taking so long, uplaoding this, I haven't been writing in a while. **

_Special thanks go to "lemondrizzlecake" for beta reading this Oneshot._  
_Thank you for the reviews, too. Means a lot to me._

_Thanks to the the people who added this one to their follows and favorites, too.**  
**_

* * *

**Collect**

_Debbie & Carl_

It's in the middle of the night, but Debbie can't sleep.

She'd like to say that it's the cold November's air that's creeping at her feet because they haven't paid the gas bill; or that it's Liam's hot breath on her neck, since she brought him to her bed so they could both warm themselves up; but actually, it's the hushed voices downstairs, the rustling and walking.

It's pretty clear her older siblings _try _to be quiet, but they're doing a horrible job at it.

Things in the Gallagher house aren't looking too bright lately, Debbie knows that. There have been worried glances Fiona and Ian exchange, and hushed fights between Lip and Fiona about how and where and when to get money, when they thought everybody else was asleep. There has been that moment, the other day, when Lip searched their father's dirty laundry with a disgusted look on his face, searching for every penny he might find. Or the nights Fiona doesn't come home because she's taken an extra shift at work.

Debbie takes one last look at Liam to reassure herself that he's sleeping and then slips out of bed, grabs her bathrobe and covers herself with it before she sneaks out of her room.

She's a little surprised to find Carl already there, sitting on the top of the stairs in his pyjamas, elbows on his knees, head in his hands. Unseen by their siblings, just a few feet down in the living room.

She wonders how he realized something's going on, since lately Lip and Ian make him wear earmuffs to bed so they can talk at night without waking him. But then again, they found the earmuffs on the sidewalk so it's possible they're broken. Debbie doesn't question it any further, just slips next to her younger brother onto the stairs and looks at him.

"What's going on?" she mouths, so the rest of the family, downstairs, doesn't hear her.

"No money." Carl isn't really a talker, so that's the only answer she gets.

He does, however, gesture for her to be quiet, so Debbie keeps her mouth shut and listens.

_"I could get a job at the factory. The boss said I could start next Monday -"_

That's Lip, his voice muffled, no doubt having a cigarette between his lips.

_"And what, dropping out? No way, you're finishing school."_

Fiona cuts him off, and even though Debbie can't see her, she knows that their big sister probably has her head in her hands by now.

_"I'd asked Kash if he could give me advance on my next paycheck, but he did that twice last month and Linda won't let him do it again. Sorry."_

_"It's not your fault, Ian."_

More walking sounds, so one of them must be pacing around. .

_"You think Frank has anything?"_

_"That he hasn't spent on booze already? No."_

_"I looked through his stuff, thrice. Nothing."_

_"Fuck!" _A bang indicates that Fiona must have kicked something with her feet.

They grow silent for a moment, and Debbie shoots Carl a worried glance, but her little brother just stares into nothing.

_"We'll figure something out, Fi." _That's Lip, again, his voice clearer now. _"We always do."_

_"Yeah, yeah." _It's barely audible, and Debbie's chest starts to hurt and all she wants to do is run down there to give her older sister a hug.

_"Okay, it's late, we'll talk about this tomorrow. It's a school night, go to bed."_

By the sound of it, they're all getting up now, and within seconds, Debbie and Carl jump up and both disappear into their beds.

_~break~_

Debbie hasn't slept at all,and everything she does the next morning is taking twice as long as normal, so she's glad it's Friday.

She's worried sick, tries to come up with something to help out her family, but she has she sticks to her job of watching Liam after school, while Fiona, Lip and Ian are out earning money.

Right now she's in the kitchen, boiling water for a bath, when Carl enters and gives her a look.

"What?" she wonders.

"I know where to get money."

She gives him a look and almost burns herself on the hot stove.

"What?"

"Sunday, eight a.m.. Meet me outside and be quiet."

She's about to say something, but Carl has already disappeared upstairs.

_~break~_

Sunday mornings are the only quiet times at the Gallagher house.

Debbie has always loved to have the kitchen for herself while everybody else is still sleeping, but today her heart is pounding and she's so nervous that, despite the cold, her hands are sweaty.

She puts her jacket on, rushes downstairs and walks out of the front door, without making any noise.

Carl's already waiting, covered in his oversized hand-me-down jacket.

"Where are we going?" she asks him, since he won't tell her a thing.

"Collecting money." He's waving his hand to signal to follow him and he walks out of the garden, taking a turn to the left.

"How?" she insists, shuffling on her feet to keep his pace.

He doesn't answer, though, just silently leads her through the neighbourhood blocks.

They stop at a church.

"What's this?" She doesn't have a good feeling for it, and knows exactly why. If there's one thing Gallaghers don't do, it's begging.

"A church," Carl answers and leads her inside.

"I know that, doofus" she whispers. "What are we doing here?"

He gestures for her to be quiet, grabs her hand and drags her towards the pews.

They sit down in the last row and Debbie is stunned. She has been to church once or twice with her school, but never on a Sunday morning. She doesn't catch what the priest is saying, because she's too busy counting all the people. Why on earth would someone get up so early on a Sunday to hear an old man reading boring stuff?

They sit through the whole service, until the very end. Debbie almost falls asleep twice, and when the priest finally finishes, Carl has to hit her to wake her up.

"Ouch."

Some people are giving them weird looks, and an old lady puts her finger to her lips.

Carl just points forwards and tells her to listen.

"And now," the priest says "the altar boy will give around the collection plate. Everything you give is for the less blessed people of our city, who are struggling to pay for everyday things. This money might help them to feed their children and keep warm at night."

People are shuffling through their bags and jackets, while a little golden plate is given around and Debbie's heart is suddenly pounding wildly in her chest.

"Carl-"

"He said it's for the less blessed people."

It takes an eternity until the plate finds its way to the last row, where Carl and her are seated all alone.

Carl grabs a handful of money and stuffs it in his jacket, but Debbie is frozen.

"Debs!" Carl shoves another handful into her jacket and is about to grab more, when Debbie, grabs his hand to stop him. She looks around to see if anybody noticed, but people are already getting up and leaving and talking about what to have for breakfast. Debbie's hands are shaking violently, when she takes another look at the plate.

"Not all of it" she says to Carl. She shoves him away, takes the plate into her hands and moves out of the back row. The altar boy is waiting there to take the plate from her. He doesn't seem to notice, and Debbie even takes it one step further, when she grabs into her pocket, rummages through the loose change, takes out a quarter and lets it fall onto the plate.

"That's all we got", she says.

They make it back home just in time to put the money in the squirrel fund box without anyone noticing.

_~break~_

It's three days later when the electric payment is due.

It's Ian who takes out the squirrel fund and counts the money and Debbie watches him carefully from her spot at the kitchen table.

He does it once, twice, a third time, and then shakes his head.

"That can't be."

"I put the money I got from the Jackson's in there yesterday -"

"It's a hundred and two dollars more than the last time I checked. "

"What?" Fiona looks at him in disbelief and Debbie can't help but smile, while Lip grabs the money out of Ian's hands and checks it again.

"How did that happen?" he wonders.

It's then that Debbie gives Carl a look, but he shakes his head. It's too late, though, Fiona has already noticed.

"You guys know anything about it?" she asks them.

The thing about Debbie is, she is a horrible liar. She bites her lips, but the words come out anyway.

"We put it in there."

"A hundred and two dollars?" Ian is obliously stunned. "Where did you get that much money?"

Fiona is already in front of them, kneels down and grabs their chins.

"Where did you get that money from?"

"It's for the people who are freezing and hungry," Carl then blurs out. "And I'm freezing my balls off."

Fiona frowns and then looks at Debbie.

"We took it from the church's collections."

She can hear Fiona taking a deep breath, before speaking.

"Okay. That's – that's wrong. You can not steal money from the church. What if you got caught?"

"But we needed money," Debbie whispers.

She watches as Fiona gives Lip and Ian a look and waits for her to speak again, but it's Carl who opens his mouth first.

"We just wanted to help."

Debbie nods. "We can pull our weight, too."

Sighing, Fiona stands up and runs a hand through her hair.

"Okay, but – not like this. I guess. It's - wrong."

"Do we have to give it back?" Debbie then asks.

Fiona snorts. "Hell no! We can finally pay that fucking gas bill and maybe even have pizza for dinner. I don't wanna freeze to death, either."

~break~

The next month, Fiona, Lip and Ian don't discuss their finances at night.

Instead, Fiona puts a box on the breakfast table and simply says "Electric."

* * *

_**A/N: I find this a little weird, but I needed to write something lighthearted after"Protector". **_

_**If you like it, you can help decide which OS I will upload next.  
You can choose between  
**_

_**"Easy" (with Ian and Carl)  
"Neverland" (with Lip and Debbie)  
"Keys" (Fiona and Liam)  
**_


End file.
